Babel

After witnessing the strength of Keith, Linnaeus had a better understanding of his standing among other Fledglings.Though Keith had been powerful, he didn't give off the impression of someone beyond Linnaeus' means to deal with. Instead, Linnaeus felt like he would come out ahead more often than not, so long as he didn't get caught off guard. With this in mind, he started to second-guess whether or not he was truly weak as, with more than 2/3rds of the remaining Fledglings having already moved to the Fourth Floor, this indicated the rest should be amongst the strongest.Having fought stronger opponents much of his life, Linnaeus knew that having higher attributes didn't necessarily mean you were able to suppress an opponent. If they fought cleverly and exploited your weaknesses, even those much weaker than yourself were able to come out ahead. This was how he won most of his battles so, after seeing Keith's battle against the Frost Wolves, Linnaeus felt more confident in his own power.The only Fledglings he really needed to be wary of were the members of the Eight Heavenly Families and outliers such as Ryuuna. Her existence had taught him that there were perfect counters to his Blessing, just as his could be considered a counter to most ranged attacks. In the future, he would have to be cautious of anyone who had a Blessing that could either penetrate or ignore his barrier, lest he finds himself on the receiving end of a brutal beating once again.Pain was an old friend to Linnaeus but that didn't mean he could disregard it entirely. Even with his [Pain Tolerance] reaching LV21, he still felt the full effects of his injuries. Thus, in order to avoid pain, Linnaeus continued to increase his proficiency with [Barrier Aura] while honing his Skills and Abilities as much as possible.In this manner, two more days had passed without incident, reducing the total number of Fledglings on the Third Floor to 87 as a layer of permafrost settled into the landscape. It was starting to get to the point that Linnaeus couldn't resist the cold so, after reaching Level 26, he decided it was time to seek out Ryuuna. He knew she was too proud to come seeking him so, unless he proactively sought her out, the Third Floor would likely become his grave.Fortunately, Ryuuna rarely ventured far from him so, after traveling for the better part of an hour, he came upon what looked like a massive graveyard. There were more than a hundred corpses of Frost Wolves present while, on the periphery of the grounds, icy blue Slimes, known as Frost Slimes, were slowly feasting on the abundant meal. They were relatively rare in other regions but, due to the large number of corpses, the Frost Slimes had started to congregate in the area in great numbers.Linnaeus had killed a few of the deceptively weak-looking monsters, looting a pale-white gel from them that, after ingesting, nearly froze him. He imagined they would be extremely beneficial in hot climates but, with even the day time temperature in the freezing range, it had put him into a state of Hypothermia that forced him to make a fire out in the open.To make matters worse, the Frost Slimes themselves weren't easy to deal with, as they would emit a penetrating cold plume, much like steam escaping from a pipe under high pressure. Thus, before he had ingested the chilling gel, Linnaeus had already been extremely cold as a layer of frost covered his dense layer of furs. Since then, he had made a point to avoid the troublesome creatures, despite the potential uses for the gels in later Floors.With an adequate amount of caution, Linnaeus navigated around the Frost Slimes before finding himself at the mouth of a cave. There was a current of warm air flowing from the interior, carrying with it the smell of burnt meat and fur. It was a very pungent aroma but, rather than stay out in the cold, Linnaeus ventured inward after covering his mouth and nose with fabric he had looted from the corpse of an unfortunate Fledgling several days prior.As he proceeded deeper into the cave, Linnaeus noticed that the ceiling was covered in a black residue that indicated exposure to smoke. Thus, when he found a campfire at the deepest part of the cave, he wasn't all that surprised. What confused him was that, despite his Party menu indicating that he was near Ryuuna, he couldn't pinpoint her position beyond the piles of partially rotting corpses that barricaded the warm interior from the external chill.It wasn't until he breached the foul-smelling chamber directly that Ryuuna's position became known to him as, adjacent to the cavern's entrance, he caught a bit of movement. In the next instant, several corpses were tossed aside as a petite figure wearing a white bodysuit charged him like a phantom as it released a feral-sounding war cry.Linnaeus knew there was no way Ryuuna hadn't sensed his arrival, especially as the Party Leader, so it was obvious she just wanted to lash out at him.Though resistance would only encourage even more violence, Linnaeus grit his teeth as he solidified his [Barrier Aura] and brought up both arms in a crossguard. He was honestly tempted to announce he was leaving the Party, as this would allow him to move on to the Fourth Floor, but he knew the rather fierce woman wouldn't forgive him so easily if he slighted her in such a manner.As could be expected, Ryuuna's attack slammed directly into Linnaeus' crossguard but, instead of a fist, she only struck with her palm. This caused him to be pushed into the wall by a pulse of golden energy, draining about 500 SP from his reserves. Rocks, dust, and soot also rained down from above, causing the interior of the cavern to become cloudy and sending Ryuuna into a coughing fit as she complained, "You sure kept me waiting...!"Understanding the futility of arguing, Linnaeus remained silent for several seconds before saying, "If I came running in the first few days, you would look down on me. I may be weaker than you, but I'm not incompetent..."After saying his piece, Linnaeus cast his [Barrier Aura] on Ryuuna, a functionality he had obtained upon reaching LV50 in the associated Magic. Though it was only effective within 50m of his position, he could cast his [Barrier Aura] on as many targets as his SP could sustain.With a membrane now filtering out all the dust and soot, Ryuuna was able to breathe easily once again. Instead of saying thanks, however, she murmured in a voice that obviously wasn't intended to be heard, complaining, "You should have used your barrier earlier, you bastard..."Linnaeus elected to ignore Ryuuna's remark, understanding it was just her being petty, something he had no control over. She likely had her reasons for behaving this way so, for the time being, he could only do his best to avoid antagonizing her.Since there was no sense in beating around the bush, Linnaeus asked, "Do you intend to stay on this Floor much longer? The outside temperature is reaching the point that I can't move freely. Since you are the Party Leader, I will respect your decision...but I would like to move on to the next Floor so we can make preparations for the next challenge."Hearing Linnaeus' words, Ryuuna seemed to fall into deep thought but he knew she was just looking at the information panel in her Status. There were now 81 Fledglings remaining, six less than when he had previously checked. This had many implications, the most likely of which indicated that other Parties were beginning to grow impatient. After all, while it was a show of strength to be the last on this particular Floor, they would lose their chance to prepare for the next challenge if they were too obstinant.Unfortunately, obstinance seemed to be Ryuuna's default mentality so, after contemplating for a few seconds, she stated resolutely, "Most of the crap in the rest areas is just a waste of Aether. It would be better to stockpile as much as we can for later Floors. It's not like any of the challenges require us to have supplies so we'll be fine. For now, we'll wait here to see what changes the tenth day brings. If my guess is correct, we only have a few hours of light left before permanant nightfall. I've saved up a ton of supplies at this point so we can hold out here for a few days, at the very least."Though he wasn't surprised by Ryuuna's words, Linnaeus barely resisted the urge to sigh as he gave a lazy nod and answered, "I understand...I'll cook us some food. If we want to be even safer, we can collapse the entrance to the cave and snuff out the fire once I'm done. With the size of these tunnels, we should have more than enough oxygen to last for a few days..."Hearing Linnaeus essentially say he wanted to avoid combat, Ryuuna snorted through her nose but, as she hated the cold quite a bit, she decided against insisting they go outside. Instead, she began to move some of the corpses outside of the cave as, if they were going to seal the entrance, she didn't want to be trapped inside with rotting bodies polluting the air they were breathing. Even if Linnaeus' [Barrier Aura] blocked out most of the smell, she had already tolerated it long enough over the last nine days.While Ryuuna was clearing out the cave, Linnaeus rekindled the campfire she had been using so he could cook some meat for them. It was obvious from the smell that the majority of her food over the last few days was burnt so, while his own cooking may not be the best, he expected it was infinitely better than anything she could prepare. He put a lot of care into preparing his meals as, after living in the slums his entire life, Linnaeus had a great appreciation for the savory meat he had gone most of his life without...After a few hours, the burnt smell in the cave had been replaced by the fragrant aroma of seasoned meat and various herbs. There was still a pungent aroma of rotten flesh in the surroundings but that wasn't really something he could do anything about. Ryuuna had left the bodies to fester too long and, if not for the cold temperatures, the smell would have been even worse.Since her nose had already filtered out the smell of rotten flesh, Ryuuna was largely unaffected by the pungent aroma inside the cave. This allowed her to smell Linnaeus' cooking even better than him, causing her stomach to let out a loud grumble, despite the fact she had eaten earlier in the day. When this happened, she instantly glared toward Linnaeus to see how he would react but, as if he hadn't heard her, he kept cooking the meat and tending to the fire with unwavering focus.Ryuuna suspected he was only pretending to have not heard her but, as there was no benefit in pressing the matter, she decided to let it lay. Instead, she sat down a bit away from him before extending her hand with a warning look reflecting across her golden eyes.With the predatory woman turning her gaze to him, Linnaeus looked up to match her line of sight. He could see the reflection of the campfire dancing in her eyes, giving her an especially vicious look that promised violence if he didn't give her what she wanted.Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Linnaeus pulled out some of the meat he had cooked previously. It was kept warm due to the fact he had used excess SP to preserve its state. They wouldn't have a fire after today and, knowing Ryuuna would complain if he gave her cold meat, he had already made the necessary preparations to ensure they had hot meals.After snatching the skewer from Linnaeus' hands, Ryuuna voraciously bit into the meat, finding it's taste considerably better than anything she had prepared herself. It lacked the gamey and burnt flavor she had grown to hate. Instead, it had a mouth-watering aroma, a palatable flavor, and a large volume of savory juices. It was even seasoned lightly, amplifying the flavor and making it taste like a completely different kind of meat, despite being the same thing she had eaten for the past few days.Before she realized it, Ryuuna had already eaten all of the meat from her skewer. This wasn't nearly enough to satisfy her, however, so she was about to demand another skewer. Before that, Linnaeus had already extended a second skewer to her, saying in a curt tone, "This will be the last one. I'll have something else for you to eat later, so pace yourself. Most of the stuff you dragged out is unusable so we'll need to ration our supplies to avoid running out during the Fourth Floor's challenge..."Though her instincts were to argue, Ryuuna mulled over Linnaeus' words and found them sensible. Despite this, she wasn't going to simply agree with him so, before collapsing the entrance, she was intending to go out and collect some fresh prey. A single large Frost Wolf would supply them with food for several days so it wouldn't be much trouble. Thus, after finishing the second skewer, she left the cave without explaining her intentions, leaving Linnaeus sighing in the background as he grilled more meat...

Though he was unable to move onto the Fourth Floor early, there were certain benefits to being trapped inside the pitch-black cave alongside Ryuuna. They had nothing better to do so, while it wasted their oxygen faster than staying silent, Linnaeus used the opportunity after filling Ryuuna's belly to ask her various questions.At first, Ryuuna completely ignored Linnaeus' questions but, after nearly twenty hours in absolute darkness, she was the one to break the silence. It beat just waiting around doing nothing so, while the number of Fledglings continued to decrease, she found it was a good way to pass the time.Once given the opportunity, Linnaeus asked if there was any information she considered absolutely necessary to their climb, such as the boons. Since he only had a basic education provided to him by Rebecca, there were a lot of gaps in his knowledge. One oft he most important lessons Rebecca had ever taught him was that knowledge, in many situations, was even more important than power. If he knew the strengths and weaknesses of himself and his opponents, it would be possible to come out ahead, even if the odds were stacked against him.Ryuuna was gobsmacked by how little Linnaeus actually knew but, as he was an attentive listener and never interrupted her, she decided he wasn't completely hopeless. She could also see that he was a hard worker as, compared to before, his Level, Attributes, Skills, Abilities, and Magic were all increasing much faster than she had expected.----------------------------------------[Status]Name: Linnaeus FinnianTitle: Love Bird(+3 Spi, +2 Cha, +1 Luk per Level while in the same party as other Love Birds)Race: Hume(50%), Manalyte(50%)Age: 15Gender: MaleLevel: 23~26(91/4800)Health: 1460/1460Soul Power: 3971/3971Strength: 50-&gt;52Constitution: 52-&gt;69+4Agility: 79-&gt;85+25.5Dexterity: 56-&gt;63+1Intelligence: 91-&gt;121+101.8Wisdom: 90-&gt;110+93Spirit: 42-&gt;51+15.3Charisma: 28-&gt;36Luck: 13-&gt;17+1Free Attributes: 0Skills: [Kinu Comprehension:(-)], [Fleet-Footed:LV11-&gt;LV21], [Magus:LV14-&gt;LV22], [Wizard:LV17], [Resilient Mind:LV8-&gt;LV20], [Sage Mage:LV15], [Knife Mastery: LV21-&gt;LV24], [Throwing: LV15-&gt;LV17],[Sense Danger: LV30-&gt;LV38], [Presence Concealment: LV32-&gt;LV40], [Acrobatics: LV31-&gt;LV35], [Pain Tolerance: LV19-&gt;LV22], [Barrier Master:LV51-&gt;LV58], [Assassination: LV35-&gt;LV38], [Charm: LV8-&gt;LV15], [Trap Set: LV11-&gt;LV22], [Trap Disarm: LV6-&gt;LV15], [Perception:LV13](new)Abilities: [Steal: LV28-&gt;LV29], [Stealth: LV30-&gt;LV39], [Night Vision: LV19-&gt;LV26]Magic: [Enhance: LV26-&gt;LV28], [Barrier: LV51-&gt;LV53], [Barrier Aura: LV50-&gt;LV55]----------------------------------------Though she would never admit it, Ryuuna was surprised by how much Linnaeus had grown. He was still considerably weaker than her but his foundation was stronger than she had expected. Since she kept track of her growth, she knew there was only a ten attribute difference between them at the same Level.Linnaeus' total attributes didn't make much sense to her so, after answering most of his questions, she also asked several of her own. When she learned that he had been fighting for his survival since age ten, accruing more than a thousand kills against predominately stronger foes, she received her answer.It was common knowledge that attributes increased faster when you were fighting against stronger foes so Linnaeus, despite his weaker foundation and lack of education, honed his attributes through life and death battles. This fundamentally changed how Ryuuna looked at the strangely beautiful boy as, rather than a delicate flower that just anyone could pluck, he suddenly seemed to have a series of extremely sharp thorns hidden behind his pale-blue petals.When it finally came time for him to ask more questions, Linnaeus interrupted Ryuuna's rumination, saying, "You are one of the strongest people I've ever met..." This caused Ryuuna to perk up slightly but, when he followed his words by asking, "How do you compare to the progeny from the Eight Families...?", she immediately resumed her cold demeanor.Linnaeus noticed he had touched a nerve so he also fell silent after seeing how Ryuuna had reacted. He half-expected her to attack him so, seeing her brooding instead of lashing out, Linnaeus felt like he had been given a reprieve.After nearly an hour of silence, Ryuuna finally decided to answer, albeit in a venomous tone as she stated, "I won't lose against those brats. As long as it isn't one of the so-called prodigies, I'll tear any other member of the Eight Families apart with my bare hands...!"Ryuuna knew her claim only held out before reaching higher Floors but, as she wouldn't just lower her head to people she considered spoiled-rotten, she willfully walked toward potential destruction without hesitation. She knew it was only a matter of time before some random branch of the Eight began to target her but, for the first time in her life, her fate was her own to choose.Though he was tempted to ask about her history with the Eight Families, Linnaeus wasn't in a hurry to anger the Dwelven woman while he was trapped in a cave with her. Instead, he gave a curt nod before adopting a supportive tone as he said, "I do not share your hatred for the Eight Families but I believe you can do it. So long as your actions do not touch my bottom line, I will help you..."Rather than show any appreciation for Linnaeus' words, Ryuuna closed the relatively short distance between them before punching, hard, against his cheek. His [Barrier Aura] was able to mitigate the damage but it still sent him tumbling through the cave before his body crashed into the wall upside down.With her golden eyes glimmering in the dark, Ryuuna glared at him with a vicious expression on her face as she spat, "I already told you not to get any ideas! Don't try to coax me with kind words you flowery bastard...!"Hearing Ryuuna's outburst, Linnaeus finally understood why she had gotten upset at him, even if he found it ridiculous. She seemed to think he was trying to flirt with her, despite such thoughts never having crossed his mind. Though his actions could be interpreted as him trying to ingratiate himself to her, it was very clear she was still bothered by the Love Bird Title they shared together...Linnaeus ultimately chose to remain silent after extricating himself from the small pile of rubble that had cushioned his fall. He then moved to the far side of the cave, putting as much distance between himself and the unhinged Dwelf as possible. For a brief moment, he was even tempted to announce his departure from the Party but, imagining her tracking him down on the next Floor like a debtor, he wisely decided against it.Ryuuna continued to glare at Linnaeus until he pulled out a pile of pelts to form a makeshift bed. He didn't even bother to come and retrieve the ones nearest to her so, after a few minutes of silence, she claimed them for herself. Despite the interior of the cave being much warmer than the outside, it was still growing progressively colder with the passage of time.---After the violent spat, Linnaeus didn't bother conversing with Ryuuna. From that moment onward, he only interacted with her when she demanded food or water. Since his SP was much higher than hers, he was holding the majority of their supplies after she had practically forced them upon him. Though this relegated him to a glorified Mule, he actually preferred to have the supplies as, if the time came for him to leave the Party, he would at least be prepared...Due to Ryuuna's pride and Linnaeus' propensity to evade unnecessary conflict, the cave was largely silent for the better part of three days. Other than the sound of breathing, eating, and the stressful moments when Ryuuna had to relieve herself, there were no words shared between them. This had started to annoy the Dwelven woman quite a bit but, as he could easily go days without uttering a single word, Linnaeus spent the majority of his time regulating his breathing and getting rest when he could.Eventually, around noon of the fourteenth day, with only twenty-eight Fledglings left, Ryuuna was the one to ultimately crack. It had started to become harder to breathe within the cave so she had been growing increasingly frustrated with the silence. If not for the fact that the interior had become warmer as the oxygen slowly ran out, she would have already tunneled her way out of the cave to get some fresh air.Since he hadn't been using it on her, Ryuuna broke the silence by exclaiming, "Why do you get to have it easy while I'm forced to breathe your smelly air!? Cast your [Barrier Aura] on me or don't blame me for beating you until you develop some sense...!"Rather than waste his breath on Ryuuna, Linnaeus just cast his [Barrier Aura] without a word. He knew she was trying to use an argument as a means to segue into an actual conversation but, as he was obstinant in his own way, he refused to pander to her more than necessary. If being nice to her was rewarded with violence, he would rather remain silent indefinitely.As could be expected, Ryuuna was extremely annoyed by how dismissive Linnaeus was behaving, despite the fact he had listened to her demand. She no longer cared about their diminishing oxygen as, with the transparent membrane surrounding her, only breathable oxygen entered her lungs. This made her feel more energetic so, rather than let him continue to brood in silence, she rose to her feet before making her way over to his side and demanding, "Give me something to eat." as she sat down nearby.Linnaeus had an incredulous expression on his face as he couldn't understand what was wrong with this pale-haired woman's head. Despite this, he still proffered forth two skewers while reserving his opinion to himself.Ryuuna quickly snatched the skewers from Linnaeus' hands but, rather than let him stay silent, she began to tear away at the juicy meat while asking, "So, what were you up to before coming to bother me? Tell me about any monsters and Fledglings you encountered. With how much your Status had increased, you couldn't have just been hiding away in a hole the entire time, right...?"Though he was tempted to remain silent, Linnaeus knew Ryuuna wouldn't take him ignoring her too kindly. Now that she had directly asked him questions, he could only release a profound sigh before detailing his survival prior to their reunion. He kept the details of his discoveries and experiments a secret, as he didn't really feel like having her plunder his reserves of Blue Gels just because they were sweet and tart.While listening to Linnaeus' recounting, Ryuuna had various reactions, the majority of which could be organized into two categories: contempt and scorn. When she heard about his encounter with the Fledgling named Keith, she looked at him like he was the biggest idiot in the world, asking, "You let them get away without even taking some of their supplies? What the fuck is wrong with you?"In response to Ryuuna's ridicule, Linnaeus just snorted as he rolled over to his side and muttered, "Not everyone enjoys killing..." before pulling a layer of pelt to cover himself. This series of actions earned him a hateful glare from Ryuuna and, for a brief moment, killing intent flashed across her golden irises.Resisting the urge to thrash Linnaeus for turning his back to her, Ryuuna hissed through clenched teeth, "You are a gullible fool...if they had been in good health and encountered you while injured, do you think they would have shown the same kindness!?"Hearing Ryuuna's words, which held more than a few grains of truth, Linnaeus began to tremble slightly. However, this wasn't due to his acquiescence but his rage and indignation at the fact that a person he hardly knew thought they had the right to judge him. It was obvious that Ryuuna had a history of her own but, as he refused to become a vicious killer that arbitrarily killed others to get ahead.Glaring back at Ryuun, Linnaeus mustered up every ounce of conviction contained within his fragile body as he fearlessly stated, "I would rather die than become a monster that takes advantage of others during their moment of weakness. I don't give a damn how others might treat me in similar circumstances. That has nothing to do with me at all. I'll act however I damn well please without giving a damn about the consequences. At least I'll have kept my fucking integrity...!"

Though it would be safer to approach after the battle ended, Linnaeus felt drawn towards the sound of combat. Since he needed to observe other Fledglings to understand their average strength, there was a need to spy actual combat, not avoid it entirely. If he kept taking a passive approach the entire time, he would never gain the information he required, meaning he would be grossly unprepared for the battles that were bound to come.Thus, while his instincts told him to seek higher ground and avoid danger, Linnaeus pushed onward until he saw a scene that gave him pause.In a small clearing, a burly man with an honest face was shouldering a delicate-looking woman with a missing leg. She had already passed out so he was practically dragging her body while trying to fend off a group of six Lesser Frost Wolves being led by two normal Frost Wolves. They were circling the man cautiously, seemingly waiting for their prey to bleed out after losing more than half their numbers in the pursuant hunt.The man had a solid build, brown hair, fur-covered ears, and a thick tail protruding from his backside. As for his companion, she had leaf-green hair, delicate features, and, most importantly, jade-green horns sticking out from the top of her head. Though it was impossible to be sure, as the bodysuits they were given covered most of the body, Linnaeus imagined she also had a few sections of scales as, poking out of her backside, a scale-covered tail was present.Linnaeus didn't know what tribe the man was from but the girl was undoubtedly a member of the Jade Dragon tribe. They were well-known for their physical and magical might, the direct result of their [Dragonification] and [Dragon Soul] Blessings. Though not every member had these Blessings, they were still famous as being nigh-peerless outside of the Tower.Judging by the state of the girl, she obviously didn't have the [Dragonification] Blessing but, what surprised Linnaeus most of all, was the resolute look in the man's eyes. He clearly had no intention to abandon his ally, even though they couldn't have known each other for more than two weeks. In the slums, he would be considered a profound idiot but, as Linnaeus watched the man continue to protect the unconscious girl, he couldn't help feeling bitter inside...As if they were hunting one of the large bear-like monsters, the Lesser Frost Wolves continued to circle their injured prey. They were smart enough to continually target the side where the woman was located, forcing the man to constantly be turning on his heels to try and take them down with the silvery-white sword in his right hand.Despite the man's best efforts, however, it was clear to see that he was slowing down considerably with the passage of time. His sword would continuously find purchase but the wounds were shallow, causing many of the Lesser Frost Wolves to have patches of blood-stained fur but, other than that, they were still able to continue their encirclement.Since the man wasn't using any Abilities or Magic, Linnaeus assumed his Blessing was either a utility or support type. Either that or, due to the prolonged battle, he had simply overused his SP until it had reached a critical level. Regardless, it was only a matter of time before the duo fell to the efforts of the Lesser Frost Wolves as it was simply impossible for him to lug around the woman's body while continuing to fight.Though his instincts were telling him to wait, Linnaeus was beginning to feel a considerable amount of guilt as he watched the man's struggles. He couldn't be certain of the man's character but, seeing how resolutely he protected his allies, Linnaeus' bitterness continued to grow. After all, he had only sought strength to protect himself and others so, seeing someone fighting to the death for another person while he just watched from the side was weighing heavily on his heart.While Linnaeus was struggling internally, he saw the man turn to his left, the side where the woman was located. It was much harder for him to complete this motion, something the Lesser Frost Wolves had been keenly aware of.Despite having performed the action several times without too much difficulty, this time the man got wrapped up in the uneven terrain, causing him to lose his balance. At the same time that he fell, four of the seven wolves immediately pounced toward him without any hesitation.Linnaeus could see the indignant look in the man's eyes but, rather than roll away and try to escape, he immediately tried to shield his companion with his own body. This was the last straw for Linnaeus so, before the wolves could reach their target, he used a [Barrier] to form a dome around the two in an instant. As a result, the wolves crashed into the hard surface, causing one to let out a loud yelp as its snout twisted at a sickening angle.While screaming curses in his mind, Linnaeus made his presence known to the group by leaping toward one of the leaders of the pack. It had been watching the hunt closely so it was completely unprepared for the sudden attack that, due to Linnaeus' [Stealth] and [Presence Concealment], went without a hitch.Though there was an incredible amount of resistance, Linnaeus managed to bury two of his horned daggers into the softer underbelly of the larger of the two Forst Wolves. This wasn't enough to kill it but, as his surprise attacks did triple damage and had a moderate chance to crit, there was no way for it to continue fighting.Deciding to leave his daggers where they had found purchase, Linnaeus pulled out an extra pair from his Inventory as he rolled across the ground before bounding to his feet. At this point, the other Frost Wolves had become aware of his presence so, with a blue barrier protecting their other prey, the only viable target was the figure wearing their kin as its garb.Rather than try to evade and defend himself from the encirclement, Linneaus tucked in his limbs to avoid being pulled in multiple directions. This left his head and neck exposed, as he kept his arms low and close to his body, but that was something he had done intentionally.Resisting every instinct telling him to evade, Linnaeus steeled himself as he allowed one of the Lesser Frost Wolves to try and bite at his throat. As the ivory-white teeth tried to sink into his neck, a blue membrane prevented them from finding purchase, allowing Linnaeus to stab upward with both of his daggers, once again burying the pair into the weakest spot of the Frost Wolves' bodies.Despite their intelligence and cooperation in hunting, there was no way the other members of the pack could understand what was going on at every given moment. When the first Frost Wolf had tried to latch onto his throat, two others had targeted his calves from behind, completely unaware of the fact their companion's efforts had ended in vain.Pulling his own shortsword out of his Inventory, Linnaeus twisted his body back, targeting the eyes of wolf gnawing at his right leg. It had been trying to trip him up by jerking its head from side-to-side but, with his [Barrier Aura] mitigating this force almost entirely, at the expense of additional SP, he was able to stand firm. This wasn't something the wolves were used to dealing with so, before it was able to pull away, Linnaeus had cut across the bridge of its nose, cleaving through both eyes in the process.Following the pathetic yelp of the now-blind wolf, Linnaeus rolled to the side to try and dislodge his other attacker and avoid being pinned in. His [Barrier Aura] was protecting him properly, but he was losing more than a hundred SP on the preliminary bite and several tens as they tried to penetrate his barrier.With four Lesser Frost Wolves and one pack leader remaining, Linnaeus began to back away with his shortsword held out toward the group. It was fortunate he had taken out the larger of the two pack leaders as, rather than show the usual confidence, the smaller Frost Wolf seemed very cautious. As the others tried to surround him, it had even gone to the side of the injured Frost Wolf, nuzzling the injured area of its companion and causing it to whimper rather pathetically.Resisting the small pang of guilt, Linnaeus equipped a horned-dagger in his left hand after backing up to a tree. Around the same time, his first barrier, the one protecting the two, had just faded away due to reaching the time limit. The brown-haired man was already standing with his own sword at the ready so, once the blue membrane faded away, he leaped toward the backs of the encircling wolves as he shouted, "Please, protect her!"As the man shouted, the wolves startled as they quickly split to the sides in order to increase the size of their encirclement. Linnaeus wanted to face-palm at the man for announcing his presence but, as he was just worried about his companion, he decided not to blame him. Instead, Linnaeus moved to the side of the green-haired woman and adopted a defensive stance while the man, now free from his burden, demonstrated surprising Agility as he pressured the wolves until they ultimately fled.In the end, four Frost Wolves escaped with their lives, three of which were of the Lesser variety. They had fled the moment the smaller of the two pack leaders turned tail, as if they had only noticed then and there that the battle was hopeless. This left a total of eleven corpses in the area, including the larger of the two pack leaders that had bled to death after its crippling injury.After sending the wolves running, the man turned towards Linnaeus with a grateful smile on his face as he released a tired sigh and said, "I really owe you for this one, stranger."For a brief moment, Linnaeus didn't know how to respond as, for the last few years, there had never been anyone to thank him. Even when he gave handouts to some of the weaker Street Urchins, they would just bow low before retreating away, often soundlessly.Rather than face his discomfort, Linnaeus shook his head before looking down at the woman and saying, "You need to wrap the wound and move away from this area. There will be more wolves to come."Hearing Linnaeus' words, the man gave a curt nod before stowing away his sword and picking up the woman's body. Then, looking toward the small figure that had started to walk backward away from him, he couldn't help but smile wryly as he said, "You are quite cautious. I'm guessing you are trying to be a Thief or an Explorer? Regardless, I really do owe you for this one. My name is Keith. If the opportunity presents itself in the future, I swear to repay this debt."After stating his piece, Keith watched Linnaeus for several seconds until the latter stated in a low tone of voice, "My name is Linnaeus...here, take this..."Linnaeus felt uncomfortable hearing the man's words but, before turning tail and vanishing into the underbrush, he pulled out a leaf wrap containing a total of five Plain Slime Gels. Since the man had a face of confusion, he also explained, "They recover Health and SP...this one treats fever and any weak status abnormalities..."Keith caught the tiny green gel that Linnaeus had tossed to him but, before he could express his gratitude or ask any questions, the short figure had already disappeared into the underbrush with commendable speed. Moments later, even his presence had vanished completely, confirming his suspicions that the boy must be pursuing one of the more 'discreet' paths.Though he was tempted to chase after Linnaeus and try to form a temporary alliance, it was clear that the boy didn't have many social skills. Thus, without pressing the issue, Keith fed one of the blue gels into his companion's mouth. He doubted the fur-clad boy would try to kill them after going out of his way to save them so wasted no time in trying to help the Jade Dragon woman, named Vera.Seeing that Vera's Health had indeed started to recover, Keith breathed a sigh of relief as he turned to flee deeper into the forest. He was heading towards the location of their Party Leader, intending to escape to the Fourth Floor and recuperate. It would take a few days for a missing leg to recover completely so staying on the Third Floor any longer was pointless. Though he suspected their Party Leader may have been trying to actively get them killed, he still needed to track them down in order to leave the Party and move on without them...

Chapter 28: Obstinance